A Reason To Be Unhappy Forever
by iwasfollowingthe
Summary: Annabelle thought she lived in a life of order. She came to terms with her sister's suicide, her parent's divorce, and a sudden move to Mystic Falls, but what happens when questions she didn't even know to ask demand answers? Why does Klaus care about her birthmark? Was her sister's perfect not so perfect? Why does Kol know her, if she doesn't? Kol/Klaus/OC. Kinda AU. Kinda not:)
1. Prologue

_It was silent as I pulled the dish out of the soapy water, watching the tiny suds slip off of the plain, white dish and back into the water-filled sink. Just as I slipped the plate into the rungs that jutted out of the dishwasher, my phone began to ring. The loud ringing pierced the comfortably silent kitchen with the lyrics of The Spice Girls. I dried my hands off quickly and reached into my back pocket that contained my phone. The image of my sister popped up on the screen of my iPhone. My thumb drifted over the wide-screen. Or at least it tried to. My thumb wouldn't move. Suddenly I was frozen in place. My abrupt happiness of my sister's name on the screen turned into the deepest sorrow imaginable. Tears started streaming down my face as I regained control of my body. Except I didn't answer the phone. I finished the dishwasher. _

_ I watched the image of my sister's face turn to black screen once more. I listened as the kitchen that once filled with upbeat music slipped abruptly into silence again. All the while, my throat constricted with pain, my eyes blurred with tears._

_ I still didn't answer the phone._

* * *

Unlike most nightmares, this one ended softly. I'd like to pretend I woke up similarly to Sleeping Beauty. My hair glowing and soft, even after years of laying on it (which would have _had_ to result in some sort of bed-head, let's be real). In reality, salty liquid was still coming out of my eyes at an irritatingly constant stream. My hair style would have more easily resembled Medusa's than Shay Mitchell's. My clothing turned and twisted in places that I wasn't sure should have been so easily reached. I hadn't even looked in a mirror yet, so how would I know that I looked like roadkill? Easily answered question.

I've had the same dream for a year now. And no, I don't need a therapist's number, or sleep interpreter to tell me what my dreams about. I know. I know because the reasons are obvious. The only traumatic thing that's happened in my life occurred in the past year. And that's when my dream started.

My sister, Megan, died.

She committed suicide. I always heard 'suicide' when they talked about Megan. Not really 'dead' or even 'passed-away'. I heard it everywhere I went. Like my shadow. The word itself is full of judgement. I'm not sure why, maybe it's just because people like to point out the worst in the individuals of their own race. Maybe people just like to blame everyone but themselves. Maybe it's because suicide is no one else's doing, and that makes it wrong. Who else can you blame besides the person that did it? They didn't fall into a bullet or a rope circle. And no one wants to blame themselves for the death of someone else. No one want to take the guilt and shame of death with them.

The thing about your sister dying is that there's no real way to deal with it. No stupid book that you can buy on Amazon titled, 'You're Guide For When Your Sister Dies' with an overly happy author on the cover. Not many people can even understand your pain. You're always alone when it comes to death. Death just likes to be alone, I guess.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, I was up and out of bed, freshly showered and feeling surprisingly less depressing. I walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. My mom was up and reading the news paper. She smiled at me and I glared back. Her face fell but I was just too angry to care.

It's not that I'm a normally argumentative teenage brat, I have my reasons. Pretending like my family was perfect before my sister's death would have been so far from right, the thought was almost laughable. My parents argued all the time. It's not that they were just two bull-headed people which they were it's that they literally disagreed on everything. And I know that you're probably thinking, 'what an exaggeration'. But by, 'literally everything', I mean it. One of their first disagreements was on my name. On my birth certificate, my name is 'Annabelle Rae Lynne Kelley'. Yes, the two middle names have a ring to it, but that's not why they're there. They're _there_ because my parents fought so much on my middle name, they almost divorced because of it. It took Megan, (two at the time) to give the idea of brilliance to use both of them, for the fighting to stop. To this day, my dad calls me 'Anna Rae', and my mom, 'Annabelle Lynne' when they're angry

When my sister died, they stopped. Granted, they also stopped talking to each other much past, 'Will you pass the salt? Thank you'. I think if I had been able to think over my grief at that time I would have seen the dysfunction and weirdness of it all.

The summer of that year, my mother suggested I get out of the town for I while. I whole-heartedly agreed to spending my summer in Mystic Falls. At least there I could pretend to forget. I was set up to stay with my cousins Elena and Jeremy, and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, considering Megan had died the month before, in May. Sometimes I smiled and laughed, but most of the time I was left alone. I appreciated it. Elena knew what the loss was like, and though we were really close and I could tell she was happy to see me, she gave me space. In that time span I learned to like everyone there. I liked how small it was. I liked how everyplace had it's own nickname because there wasn't anything remotely having to do with chain-restaurants in the small town. Despite all the healing I had accomplished in between the laughs and smiles, I wanted to go home at the end of the summer. I could think about Megan without curling up into a fetal position to try and control the pain in my chest. I was ready to remember her for the good things, and not the bad.

When I got back to my house I was too excited to notice the 'For Sale' signed staked in my front lawn, or the moving truck parallel-parked on the street beside my house. I wasn't in too much of a hurry to notice that my furniture was made up of boxes labeled 'Kitchen Supplies', and 'Books' though. That's when my mom told me that my Dad had moved out. She told me that she bought a house in Mystic Falls. She told me it was in the same neighborhood that Elena and Jeremy lived in. She told me all the new things will be exciting and fresh. She told me I'd make friends and a new me. She told me she packed my stuff. She told me I'd be happy.

I didn't believe her. I still don't.

* * *

I sauntered around the kitchen. Pouring myself coffee in a blue mug, I added absurd amounts of sugar and milk, because, who even drinks coffee for the taste? I decided to skip breakfast, mostly because I wasn't hungry, a bit because I was protesting staying here in Mystic Falls, and a small part because I didn't want to bloat. I had to look perfect for the first day of school. Which is why I was up at five a.m. when school started at 7. Beauty took time. That's what Megan taught me.

I hadn't really cared what I looked like or how popular I was for most of my life. My sister was the drop-dead gorgeous one, the one everyone wanted to be. Unable to compete with her, I didn't really consider trying. I floated around on my sister's popularity, not because I cared, but because I think everyone wanted me to be a little her. Even though I wasn't. Even thought I didn't want to be.

Now that she was gone, the pressure was on to be pretty, popular, and liked. I felt like I owed it to her. To Megan. She always accepted me for who I was. Megan always made people think that she knew them, knew everything about them, so, being around her made me think I knew too. She had confidence in me that I didn't have for most of my life. I lacked that confidence not because I was ugly, or bullied into thinking I was, but because I was always a little off beat, looks and otherwise.

I was never really ugly, but my face had been a bit to round for my neck most of my sophomore and junior year. My eyes a little to large for my face. My legs and arms always gawky as they hung out awkwardly from my body, more like foreign appendages than limbs. I'm not sure I understood what changed over the summer Megan was gone, but guys started looking at me when I walked by. My breasts grew into a C-cup and my body wasn't gawky anymore, but willowy and graceful. My face lengthened and I learned how to do my makeup with Elena around. I think the biggest difference was that I started thinking like Megan. I started thinking like everything was important. From grades to the amount of foundation she put on, Megan was a perfectionist. It showed to everyone, me included. I wanted people to think of me like that.

What better time to start than now?


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Okay so, this is my first chapter, and I think I'm gettin' into this story. I would like to state that this story'll start at 3x13 and pretty much AU from then on. I decided not to make Jenna dead in this fanfic, just go with it. It's also a Klaus/Kol/OC. The OC being Annabelle, or Anna if you will. Cool? Cool :)**

**Also, if you like it, review. If you hate it, review too! I'd love to hear your thoughts. :)**

Chapter 1

The first day of school was going well. Everyone was welcoming and even though I was with an entire class of seniors that had known each other their entire lives, I wasn't an outcast. It was probably because I was Elena's cousin, and from what I saw of Elena, everyone loved her. She was popular, but not because she carried around an air of superiority-people like that just get punched-but because she was nice. The fact that she was drop-dead gorgeous helped too.

The classes weren't particularly hard from what I saw, but then again, I was taking a bunch of blow-off classes because I had gotten almost all of my credits already done my first three years. The only real class I was taking this year was A.P. English. I shared the class with Elena and Caroline. I had met Caroline earlier that summer and she and I were acquaintances because we had spent so much time together, due to our mutual friendship with Elena. I really did like Caroline. She was a good person from all I had gotten to know, but every time I looked at her all I could see was my sister, and that was a downer to say the least.

The English teacher had given everyone a piss-off poetry assignment and from what I gathered from the notes Caroline passed me now and then, we basically had three days to screw around in class.

"Alright, you guys know the drill, get a laptop and find your poems." The teacher (for the life of me I couldn't remember his name) looked at me for a second. I was close to getting on my knees and just praying that he didn't do a stupid 'get to know the new student' session. The chewed on pen that had been in his mouth before finally came out as he pointed at me with the spitty end.

"Who wants to take..." He started.

"Anna." I replied with a small smile and a blush on my face as all the eyes in room swept towards me when they had previously been on phones or roaming the walls.

"Yes, Anna. Who's willing to take Anna into their project group?" He asked and his eyebrows shot up along with a good amount of hands in the room. I laughed as I watched Caroline's hand shoot up first.

"Mr. Walters, Elena and I'll take her." She said with a surprisingly bright smile on her face.

The teacher-apparently his name was Mr. Walters-nodded his hand and a couple of the guys in the room, to my surprise, sighed in disappointment. Caroline sent me a smile while she went to get a laptop and Elena pulled a chair towards my desk while I got out a pencil

Elena's face seemed distant for a minute before she looked at me.

"Do you wanna come to the Grill after school? I know you've met Bonnie and Caroline, but I was wondering if you wanted to meet Matt and Tyler?" She looked weirdly hopeful, like she thought I had anything else to do. I nodded my head and she smiled. "Just so you know, we'll have to wait after school for Caroline, she needs a ride to the Grill."

"Yeah sure. I don't mind waiting, but why are we?" I asked, a smile on my face. I really didn't care about the wait. Less time to think if I was busy. And we all know how damaging thoughts are.

"Cheerleading try outs. Care's the captain." Elena paused as Caroline set the laptop down on the desk and pulled another chair up next to Elena's. "And Caroline's car is in the shop." I heard Caroline sigh in frustration at this and dramatically throw her hand against her forehead, and it reminded me so much of Megan that I had to blink away a sudden onslaught of tears blurring my vision. I didn't think Caroline noticed, but I shared a look with Elena for a second. Her eyes filled with compassion and my gaze flitted away before my watering ones betrayed me and produced tears. Caroline's voice snapped me out of my bouts of self-pity.

"God forbid my mother come home early from work to pick me up." Caroline said, and I sympathized with her on the busy parent situation. My dad's a surgeon and he pulled long hours. Not that I had that problem anymore. He was pretty much out of the picture. Divorce and all. Puts a damper on relationships.

"So, you're coming right?" Caroline asked and I looked at her blankly for a second. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "To the Grill?" She specified and she laughed at my obvious flicker of realization. I laughed with her.

"Sure, sounds great." I said, but, while I was excited for the trip maybe a minute ago, all I really wanted to do now was crawl into bed, eat my weight in chunky monkey, and watch re-runs of The Hills.

After school I had some troubled finding Elena to say the least. The swarms of people surrounding me almost made me claustrophobic. And I liked small spaces. After I found my bearings and had almost opened the door to the janitor's closet thinking it was outside, not once, but twice, I found where the cheerleaders were trying out. I stood next to the side of the building in a pretty rapey dark corner watching the cheerleaders do their routines for a while.

They weren't bad. In fact, they were pretty good, but one freshman girl in particular seemed like she was having a tough time. I recognized her from my History class. She was pretty quiet and it didn't occur to me to remember her name. I walked away from my little corner to find Elena sitting in the grass reading a book. She smiled at me before ducking her nose back into the book. I recognized it as a book we had to read for our English class. Billy Budd, Sailor. I hated that book when I read it at my old school. I took my ipod out of my pocket after starring with detest at the book for a few seconds. My eyes fell back onto the cheerleaders doing flips and spins in time with each other as I placed my earbuds in my ears. There was still that one girl who was always off time. She was small and really skinny, so she I could see that Caroline was trying to get her to be a flyer. The only problem was that she could never get her flips right, so she'd be halfway turned when she landed, which, obviously caused a bunch of problems.

I saw Caroline yelling at her for what seemed to be the fourth or fifth time after she accidentally kicked someone in the face. Admittedly, I probably wouldn't have done anything-cheerleading isn't my forte- if I hadn't seen her turn her back in utter defeat and walk to the edge of the field to sit down. I made my way over to her and sat down next to her.

"You okay?" I asked and I saw a barely perceptible shake of her head. I patted her back, admittedly awkwardly for a few seconds. "Do you maybe want help?" I asked warily, and she looked up over at me.

"You're a cheerleader?" She asked with a very doubtful look up and down. I wasn't exactly sure if I should've been offended or not at the fact that her eyes were looking me up and down.

"No, but I'm a dancer." I said, and it was the truth. If I was anything it was a dancer. I started 'dancing' when I was three. But really, when you're mom puts you in a dance class at three, it's just an expensive day care.

"Really?" She asked and her eyes lit up with hope. I smiled and took off my jacket, throwing it on the ground.

"Sure. Now, what do you need help with?" I asked and she explained in almost exaggerated depth everything she was doing wrong.

I worked with her for a while on tumbling and gave her some points on her flips. I obviously wasn't used to cheerleading and what was okay and what wasn't, so I didn't want to screw her up and get Caroline even more mad at her.

I didn't realize how long we had worked on the rough areas of the routine until I heard a whistle blown in the distance. Caroline came up to us and I smiled at her until I realize she wasn't smiling back. My smile faded and she cocked her head to the side. I was almost scared to say anything at all. By the look she was giving me, I was about to consider the ground opening up and swallowing me whole a better option than dealing with this scrutiny.

"Join the squad." She said suddenly. I looked over at my little student buddy, thinking that Caroline was talking to her, but she was looking at me and so was Caroline.

Being the brilliant mind I am I replied with a dumbfounded, "Whaaat?".

Caroline sighed and repeated the question again. I continually stared at her.

"But, I'm not a cheerleader." I said, and Caroline seemed to need to shake her head and sigh again at me.

"No, Sherlock, you're not a cheerleader, but you're good. We need to fix your angles and whatnot, but otherwise, you'd be a great addition to the squad." She said, and I looked over Caroline's shoulder to see Elena walking towards me with a cheshire-cat-sized grin on her face. I was immediately frightened.

"If you don't join the squad, I will not, under any circumstances, associate myself with you anymore. You will forever be known to me as 'Elena's Cousin." Caroline said, and honestly, she looked like she was serious.

"She's right, you're good." Elena said and I sighed.

I nodded in half-hearted consent, which apparently was enough enthusiasm to send Caroline off her rockers as she did an impressive jump, squeal, and hug combination. This made me smile, and as soon as she let go of me, I looked over at my Freshman-buddy, who had been quietly standing by me side this entire time.

"Does she get to join?" I looked at Caroline, and freshman-buddy blushed and looked at the ground. Caroline looked her up and down, then looked at me again. I raised my eyebrow and put my arm around Freshman-buddy. Caroline sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright." Caroline said, and freshman-buddy looked up at her with alarm before a giant smile came appeared her face. "But don't you think for a second that you can slack off just because you have a spot. If for one second I don't think you can handle it, you're gone." She said in a fierce motherly voice. Freshman-buddy surprisingly didn't flinch at Caroline's strict tone, but instead brightened more and practically bubbled with excitement.

"I promise I won't let you down." Freshman-buddy grinned and Caroline nodded as Freshman-buddy just stood there bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"What are you still standing here for? You have routines to practice." Caroline said with her eyebrows raised. Freshman-buddy nodded enthusiastically and started to run off.

"Wait!" I shouted and Freshman-buddy turned around to look at me. "What's your name?" I asked with a smiled. Freshman-buddy grinned.

"Emma!" She said as she ran off. I saw Emma immediately go to a circle of girls, and I assumed she was telling her good news.

I glanced at Elena and Caroline who were both looking at Emma's back as they shook their heads in an endearing manner.

"The Grill?" I asked with a cocked eyebrow. They both grinned in response and Elena pulled out the keys to her car.

* * *

**OKAY, hey again. If you saw like... A lot of mistakes, it's cause I'm tired. It's five a.m. and I'm pretty much hyped up on tea and crystal meth right now. Haha, just kidding. Hugs not drugs.**

**Anyways, review please, and if you saw mistakes please don't come to my house with pitch forks and fire.**

**:)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Alrighty, so I'm double posting tonight because I've typed for like six hours straight and I just feel like putting it out there. Okay?! Do you have a problem with this?! Good. Okay, so this chapter will actually start the plot of the story. MUAHAHAHA. Sorry. Like I said, six hours. Fingers cramping. Anyways, like the Aunt Jenna thing, for the purpose of this story, Klaroline does not exist. **

**Don't get me wrong. LOVE ME SOME KLAROLINE. But I can't really work it in. **

**So, like always, if you love it, tell me. If you hate it, start liking it! Just kidddding. Tell me why you hate it. Or, if it's just cause I'm ugly, that's okay too.**

**Alrighty, enjoy :))))**

* * *

Chapter 2

When Elena, Caroline, and I arrived at the Grill- because apparently that's what everyone called it in Mystic Falls- both Matt and Tyler were already there. When we got there Matt explained that Bonnie couldn't come because she had chores to do or something.

Matt and Tyler were over at the pool table, becoming surprisingly competitive about it, and spouting off rules about some pocket and a white ball blah, blah. Elena, Caroline, and I were sipping our various drinks at a table a few feet away. While I was watching the boys play, I turned to Caroline and Elena.

"Am I the only one who swings the stick around and hopes that the eight ball doesn't go in a pocket?" I asked, honestly slightly confused at the pool rules that everyone knew about except for me. Elena and Caroline looked at me for a second and then started laughing. They were laughing way too hard for my liking and I frowned. I stood up when their laughing didn't show any sign of stopping.

"Need any refills?" I asked sarcastically as I grabbed my cup off the table. Caroline, still obnoxiously laughing, pushed her cup towards me. I rolled my eyes and took it.

"Th... Thanks!" She shouted in between laughs, and if I didn't know she was drinking Diet Coke, I'd think it was bourbon. I stood in front of the bar and waited for the bartender to come over to refill the drinks. For such a small town, they had enough drinkers around to fill up the bar stools and make me wait for the bartenders attention.

Patience was never my strong-suit of mine, so soon I was tapping my foot. I felt a hand tap my back.

"Megan?" I heard a male voice ask. I heard the British accent before I comprehended the real question being asked. When I realized that this person must have mistaken me for my sister from the back, my face paled and I turned around. To my surprise, a very attractive face was smiling at me. Well, was smiling, now he was scowling. I awkwardly smiled and stuck out my hand.

"No, actually. I'm Annabelle Kelley. Megan's sister." I said and I felt his hand clasp mine as his scowl was covered up by a smile again.

"Klaus." He said, his smirk more than slightly unnerving but almost hypnotic. After staring at him for way longer than was socially accepted, I took my hand away abruptly and almost had to catch myself wiping my hand on my jeans. Not because I was in kindergarten and afraid of cooties or something, but because my hands had suddenly started sweating. He seemed to notice that he was making me nervous, and instead of looking bashful, it seemed to make him please.

Right on time to save me from my face appearing on a milk carton, the bartender showed up. He looked at me with tired eyes, just waiting for me to tell him was drink to make.

"Ahh, two Diet Cokes please?" I asked, and because of the unrelenting eyes of the bartender, and the fact that I could creepily, but not unpleasantly, feel the body hear Klaus was giving off, my voice had turned high and squeaky.

The bartender nodded and when he came back with the sodas he set them in front of me on the counter.

"That'll be five dollars, please." He said, and I turned to reach into my purse, but before I could even think about reaching for my wallet, there was already a mysterious five dollar bill sitting on the counter. And a smiling Klaus. I put two and two together.

"I'm not sleeping with you." I said, and apparently I was an undiscovered comedian tonight, because this made Klaus burst into laughter. As I turned to bring the drinks to the table, I felt my arm being grabbed. I turned to once again see Klaus.

"Now who said anything about sleeping with anyone?" He asked, that annoying smirk still on his face. I smiled at him, I'll admit, mockingly, and looked at his hand on my arm. Then back at him. He got the hint and let go of my arm. He looked like he was about to say something more when Elena walked up to us. She didn't look too happy.

"Elena. How are you?" Klaus asked mockingly, and while I thought his previous smiles were a little chilling, those were made of puppies compared to the one Elena was receiving. Elena didn't look the least bit fazed as she stared at him with pure hatred and a little bit a fear before turning her gaze to me.

"We have to go." She said and grabbed my arm and pulled me away. I looked back, a little confused, because the drinks were still on the bar. I shrugged, at least I didn't pay for them. We had walked a few steps already when I heard Klaus' voice again.

"Yes, better to go, before the big bad wolf blows the house down." He said, and when I looked back, I saw he was drinking my Diet Coke. Out of my glass. Gross.

When Elena and I were in the car and driving she looked at me for a second.

"Are you okay?" She asked in that concerned voice of hers that made my heart just melt sometimes.

"Yeah. Why? Klaus is kinda creepy though." I said and grinned before I realized that Elena wasn't laughing. "What's wrong?" I asked, because now I _was _concerned. And I didn't do concerned well. Elena nodded unconvincingly and moved her hand to turn on the radio. I stopped her hand gently with mine. "Seriously, what's wrong?" I asked again. This time Elena shook her head.

"He's just... not a good guy." Elena said and she looked distracted for a second before looking back over me with that haunted expression. "He's hurt a lot of people I've cared about." She said, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Well, thank you for telling me, but I'm not gonna one of them." I said as I reached over to squeeze her hand and smile at her. She looked doubtful as she tried to give me a smile. "Hey, I'm not going to be one of them." I said, but I could tell that nothing I would say would make her believe me.

"Hey, just promise me you'll wear this from now on?" She asked as she fished through the car to find an expensive looking bracelet. What a weird request. I raised my eyebrow at her.

"Just promise me!" She said, in a very un-Elena-y way. I raised my arms in surrender.

"Alright... I'll wear it." As soon as I said it, Elena looked relieved and I put it on there in the car.

It was 11:27 when I woke up in a cold sweat. That dream again. Maybe I just had a phobia of answering phones and that's why I kept on having the recurring dream. It wasn't even about my sister's death. It was because of my fear of phones... I could work with that. I stared at the ceiling for a while, laying in my pile of blankets on the floor before deciding I wasn't going back to sleep soon. Luckily, it was Friday, so I didn't need to sleep for school tomorrow.

I got up from my 'bed' and stretched, keeping quiet because I was sleeping in Elena's room. I was staying at the Gilbert while my house had whatever needed to be done to it before we moved in, done. I tiptoed out of the room, and couldn't shake the awesome feeling of being a spy while I was trying being quiet walking around the house. All I really needed was a coupled of somersaults and strategically placed cartwheels and I was pretty much 007.

When I got downstairs, I wasn't sure what I had planned to do differently downstairs than upstairs. I wasn't particularly hungry or thirsty, just restless, so I decided to take a walk. I briefly considered going upstairs to get my phone, but decided against it, because, really, this was Mystic Falls, and nothing happens in Mystic Falls. I looked down at the bracelet that Elena gave me and noticed how expensive it looked. Knowing how bad I was at keeping track of anything, I took it off, genuinely scared at what Elena's reaction would be if I lost it.

I pulled on a jacket and opened and closed the door quietly as I made my way out of the house. I wandered the streets for a while, but when I saw a forest close my, I decided to explore. I took out my handy-dandy pocket light and turned it on, so that if there were any hungry mountain lions or bears, I'd at least know what was eating me.

I didn't know how long I was walking for when I heard a branch crack behind me. I turned around but didn't find anything.

"Okay, this is the beginning to a very bad scary movie." I said, trying to be humorous, but I was scaring myself out of my wits. I turned to where I presumed the direction the houses would be in, but really, I was too far out to see any sort of lights anymore. I expected to maybe see some houses, or a distant light in the black abyss of forest. Instead I saw Klaus. Definitely not a house or a light. I let out an obnoxious scream and then laughed when I realized who it was.

"Wow, way to be creepy." I said as I laughed at myself again, but this time it was warily, because Klaus wasn't looking at me like he wanted to kill me and wear my skin as a cape, but like he wanted to eat me. Like he was a predator. "By any chance, do you know how to get back? Cause people'll be looking for me." I laughed again, but this time it was shaky, and not at all confident. "I was actually pretty stupid coming out here, huh?" My voice was steadily becoming more and more high-pitched and my palms continued to sweat. The entire time Klaus just smirked at me.

"I'm actually not too relieved to see you here. It's quite unfortunate, actually." He said, and he actually looked a little bit upset, but it was hidden with that smirk quickly.

"W-Why is that?" I asked as I wiped my hands on my pajama pants. Wow, I wasn't even going to die in style. Megan would be really disappointed in me.

"I've had a bad night. And when I have bad nights, I just start itching to kill something." He said. I just stared at him for moment. Completely not believing what I was hearing. He continued in that same tone of voice as normal, non-serial killing people, would use to talk about the weather. "Really, I don't want you to take this to heart. It's nothing personal. You're just in the wrong place at the wrong time." His voice was low and completely terrifying, and as he said each word, he stepped closer.

"What made you upset?" I asked, mostly because I didn't really want to die and I always saw people in the movies talk to their killers to stall for time before their heroes swept in. I was also curious, and I could slap myself for it.

By the look on Klaus' face, I'd guess that I had surprised him again. He let out a short, astounded laugh and shook his head in disbelief. He narrowed his eyes at me, seemingly in curiosity, for a second before taking a step closer again. We were close enough now that if he reached out with his arm and I did too, our fingertips would have touched. His proximity surprised me and I took a startled step back. Being as graceful as I was, I tripped over a root placed behind me. Probably on purpose. Falling on my ass, I sat there, not exactly seeing the point of standing up again. I'd probably just fall like a ridiculous baby fowl.

"I'm not surprised very often. I'm really not. Humans are predictable, you're not." He looked at me like I was science experiment. Which I found kind of violating, not that it would matter. I was going to be dead soon. "To answer your question. I'm having some family drama." I nodded in response. Not because I was trying to keep him talking anymore, but because I could relate to family drama.

Apparently, I was a hilarious nodder as well as unpredictable, because Klaus once again laughed. I scowled at him as he crouched down over my sitting form and, for a serial killer, he quite gently moved a piece of hair from my face.

"Such beauty. It really is a shame I'm going to kill you." He said as he shook his head and clucked his tongue. A sadistic smile appeared on _my_ face for once at that comment.

"I have an idea. Why don't you just... I don't know... not?" I asked and he laugh. Again.

I thought I had been scared before. I was wrong. Really, really wrong. Because then Klaus' face started to change, and that was when I was scared. I gasped as I watched the whites of his eyes turn blood red. His iris' changed from their original blue-green to yellow. But the most unsettling part was that the veins under his eyes that would normally be invisible turned a prominent and unsettling red. I didn't scream. In fact, my mind fell into an understanding calm. It came over me as he looked me in the eye and moved my hair from my neck. He tilted my neck to the side for god knows why. Then he stilled.

His fingers drifted to the back of my neck. They hovered over the center of it as his face turned from whatever monster he had been back to human.

"Now, what's this here?" He asked, and I assumed that he was talking about the crescent-moon-shaped birthmark on the back of my neck that his fingers were resting over now.

"A birthmark." I said, my voice not shaky anymore, but it wasn't calm either. It was angry. I was angry at this man. Not for having the intention of killing me, but for the fact that he was taking so long to do it.

"You don't say... Well, doesn't this make things more interesting..." Klaus said, as his gaze became more distant and thoughtful, his sinister smile grew. "Well, you have a goodnight, Annabelle." He stood up and held out his hand to help me up. I ignored the hand and stood up myself.

"You're not killing me anymore? How kind." My voice was thick with sarcasm, but my heart rate calmed, and I could never thank my freakish birthmark enough.

"No. I guess it's your lucky day." He paused for a second, that smile still on his face as leaned in close and grabbed my chin. I flinched, but he caught my gaze. "You won't remember meeting me on your walk. You took a stroll and then went back to the Gilbert household to sleep." He seemed like he was done talking but then seemed to decide against. "Tomorrow night you will be my date for the ball my family is hosting. Wear your hair up. Goodnight." He left in a blur.

I blinked my eyes and I got really confused why my pajama pants were covered with dirt and my flashlight pen was on the ground. I bent over to pick the pen up, shrugging.

When I got back to Elena's house I was exhausted and I collapsed on my pile of blankets. I couldn't remember anything in all my days as comfortable as that floor right then.

The next morning I woke up with an envelope laying on the pillow next to my face. I sat up and looked over at Elena's bed. She was still asleep as I picked up the envelope. It was an invitation to a ball. And I surprised myself by how desperately I wanted to go to it. I flipped it over to the back, and in calligraphy. Not even kidding, real as shit calligraphy, it said:

_Wear your hair up,_

_Klaus_


End file.
